Small-scale mergers in the food sector are expected to become a trend in South Africa's food industry, as winning Competition Commission approval is less onerous than for big mergers. The largest corporate merger in South Africa in recent years involved the billion-dollar transaction between global beer giant, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller. The deal faced regulatory constraints from the commission but got the go-ahead. More recently, though, companies in South Africa have been merging operations or buying brands in a bid to increase market share. Figures from the Competition Tribunal indicate that mergers are on the rise. Between April last year and March this year it handled 130 cases for mergers across various sectors, up from the 116 cases between April 2016 and March 2017. Last month, VKB Agri Processors acquired control of VKB Flour Mills, a manufacturer and supplier of flour, bread and other bakery products.The tribunal also approved the merger of investment company Phila...
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